Present-day all-in-one diapers are being replaced to an ever greater extent with pants-type diapers, or so-called training pants, for slightly older diaper-wearing children. Pants-type diapers have a number of good features. They fit well on the wearer, they are easy to put on and take off with the child in a standing position, they sit firmly in place after having been put onto a child, and conform to the anatomy of the child as the child moves, in a comfortable fashion. Moreover, pants-type diapers resemble conventional underpants and it is easy to understand how they shall be used, thereby in many instances enabling somewhat older diaper-wearing children to perform themselves the simple operations required in putting on the pant diaper.
EP A2-0,320,991 defines a pants-type diaper which is produced by folding a blank of the aforesaid kind in the manner described in the introduction, whereafter the bordering side edges of the side parts are fastened together by ultrasonic welding or gluing. A pants-type diaper manufactured in this way will necessarily have at least two outwardly standing side seams which, when the diaper is worn, are subjected to loads or forces that are directed generally at right angles to the bonded surfaces, i.e. to so-called peel forces. Consequently, the side seams must be sufficiently strong to withstand the forces to which they are subjected, meaning that a high degree of precision is required when joining the surfaces together and also when selecting the materials to be joined. Neither are the seams attractive from an aesthetic point of view, which is a negative feature from a commercial aspect.